Stars select Oleksiak 14th on draft day

The Dallas Stars have picked Northeastern University defenseman Jamie Oleksiak with the 14th overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

A hulking blueliner at six-foot-seven, Oleksiak outweighs his nearest draft competitor by over 30-pounds. Though you’d expect a 245-pound defenseman to be slow of foot, that isn’t the case with Oleksiak, who can blend his adequate speed with a wingspan that rivals a pterodactyl.

Those arms help generate arguably the draft’s most powerful shot, though Oleksiak needs to shorten up his windup in order to effectively get his shot off.

Ironically enough, the enigma on Oleksiak comes with his size as well. Despite having the physical tools to dominate the opposition physically, the Toronto, ON. native hasn’t added the dimension of physical bruiser to his resume. Should Oleksiak manage to develop a meanstreak like Duncan Siemens, NHL forwards will quickly become miserable when they step on the ice against the Northeastern standout.

And that could mean the difference between a Zdeno Chara and a Tyler Myers.